Snapchat and their Second Crisis of 2018

After losing an estimated $1.3billion following an unwelcomed update, and being disowned by Kylie Jenner (one of their biggest advocates) on the back of that, it could have been thought that Snapchat had seen their last dose of crisis’ for the year, but apparently not.

Just weeks after Snapchat’s first mistake of the year (and just as their consumer base were starting to forgive them) the app has come under scrutiny yet again by no other than Rihanna, who took to Instagram to rant about the unforgiving ad showcased on the app by one of their partners.

Pretty much everyone knows about the Rihanna and Chris Brown situation and therefore can sympathise with how much this would sting. The ad is in unforgiving bad taste and the fact that Snapchat allowed it to be a part of their app is not fairing well for the business’ reputation.

The ad is nothing more than cruel and the developers behind it clearly executed this at an attempt at a publicity stunt. Unfortunately, it isn’t the developers who have bore the brunt of it, it’s Snapchat.

I don’t doubt that Snapchat intentionally allowed the ad to go out, but it’s also very clear that their lack of ad-screening has shot themselves in the foot here. Snapchat are fast becoming the epitome of bad PR and it’s safe to say if the app continues to leap from one disaster to the next (with the addition of celebrity-shaming) they’re not going to last too long.

Moving forward i’d hope that Snapchat pulls the ad immediately, bans the future developer from ever accessing their advertising platform ever again and campaigns for the removal of the application all together. It’s safe to say if I ever saw it again I’d be more than disappointed.

Snapchat have a long road ahead of them until full redemption, and they seem to be moving backwards rather than forwards. I don’t doubt that the app will redeem itself in time, but they’re going to have to do some serious grovelling to pick up their tattered reputation.

Published by Jessica Pardoe

I am a first class, Business & PR graduate. I now work at Tecmark in Manchester as a Digital PR and Outreach executive. This is my blog where I write about all things PR and Lifestyle - thanks for sticking around to read it!
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About my blog… and myself

A quick hello

Hiya! My name’s Jessica Pardoe and this is my personal PR & lifestyle blog. I’m a 21 year old, first class graduate of Public Relations; now working as a Digital PR & Outreach Executive at Tecmark in Manchester. I also dabble with SEO and am a keen content writer and creator.